grill | schwingeninswitzerland

While we were home over the holidays, we got to see one of our dogs. He is doing well and clearly loves his new family. Being sweet, affectionate and very attached, he wants to be near people all the time. He isn’t, however, the most trustworthy when left unsupervised. When no one around his new home, he gets to stay in the bathroom. He doesn’t seem to mind and willingly trots inside.

His new parents painted the bathroom before hosting Thanksgiving. Since they couldn’t put him in the bathroom with wet paint, they put him in a crate. He’d never really been crated before. Let’s just say he wasn’t a fan. The crate was a plastic one with a metal closure that you have to pinch. When they returned home, he was bashful… and outside the crate. He ate through the metal closure to get out! Jailbreak. No more cute bandanas, it’s orange jumpsuits for you. No shoelaces either.

Unfortunately, in busting out, he broke one of his incisors. The vet said it would continue to get infected and recommended removing it. He made it out, but it is now down a tooth. We’re trying to get his new parents to replace it with a gold grill.

While in South Africa (at Bongwe), we attended a few Braai (barbecues). They are a South African institution with its own etiquette that stretches across ethnic and class lines. Since Christmas is in their summer, their traditional Christmas dinner is a Braai! They are also have them regularly as get-togethers, weekend dinners, the preferred means of celebrating South African Heritage Day, Braai Day and for visitors like us.

You can use almost any kind of meat. Locals do it as a sort of potluck with BYOM (bring your own meat). The meats are a bit more exotic than you find at a typical US barbecue. Common ones include: lamb, steak, chicken, ostrich, gemsbock, springbock and ducks!